Chapter Nine
Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. - Jane Howard
He met Shinji on a silent rooftop in the middle of the city, on his way back him his shift disposing of hollows, though there had been surprisingly few tonight. He was glad of that; for all his strength, these long shifts could exhaust him after an already lengthy day. He had not planned to meet Shinji, and didn't know that his friend would be waiting for him, but Ichigo was no longer surprised when he rounded a corner and found someone waiting to talk to him.
In his opinion, no one ever just came up to you for a conversation, they always have to lurk. He raised an eyebrow at his friend, and Shinji nodded back.
"We have talked it over, Ichigo."
Ichigo tried very hard not to be annoyed at the tone of Shinji's voice, like he expected him to be pleased that the Vizards had been talking about them.
"I assume you're talking about Grimmjow. And what conclusions have you drawn?"
"We don't believe that he is working for Aizen. We don't think that he would go this far if he did not have reciprocate whatever it is you two have. I believe that you have faith in him, and I know that you do not give it away easily."
Ichigo shook his head. Despite this positive start, he could tell by the frown Shinji wore that it couldn't be that simple. He was tired, and had had enough of games.
"So what do you want, Shinji? What can we do to make you all be okay with him?"
"Ichigo, we need to know if we can trust him."
"Do you trust me?"
There was silence, for a moment, before Shinji slowly nodded his head.
"You have different ideals to us, and keep very different company, but yes. I trust you. I would trust you to protect me if I was weakened, because I would do the same for you, and I believe that very few bonds that deep are not without reciprocation. And I think the rest of the Vizards feel the same."
"Will you believe me if I tell you that Grimmjow would do the same, to protect me?"
There was another silence, this one a little longer, but in the end Shinji sighed and nodded once more.
"I think that he would."
Ichigo nodded, glad that his friend had reached this conclusion.
"And if I were to say to you, I have a friend with spiritual powers that is my ally in battle, I want you to meet him. I trust him, and I would like it if you could come to trust him too, because he was on our side, what would you do if I brought in Chad?"
Shinji understood the point he was making, but said nothing.
"Why is it so different, just because it is Grimmjow?"
The Vizard looked at the ground for a moment.
"Because he was on the other side, Ichigo."
"Those sides don't exist any more. Now is the time to make new ones; the Soul Society have found out about Grimmjow, and I need to know if I am going to have you at my back."
Ichigo rested a hand on his friend's shoulder, his voice sincere.
"The war is over, Shinji. And I need to know that you're still with me for the ones coming."
Shinji looked up at him, and all of a sudden his insufferable smile slid back into place. He put his own hand on Ichigo's shoulder and nodded at him, sure of himself. As he looked into the eyes of his friend- so much more mature now than he had been a matter of months ago- he knew for sure that he would not let Ichigo down.
"We're with you, Ichigo. You can count on that."
"Are you sure you're ready for this?"
Grimmjow looked him squarely in the eye.
"I really don't know. But are you sure that you're ready for this?"
Ichigo tried not to look as nervous as he felt. What was Grimmjow doing even asking that question?
"I know that I'm not."
"Is it really going to be as bad as you think that it is?"
The former-Espada tried not to laugh at the look of terror that had settled over Ichigo's features as he contorted his face in horror at the thought of what was to come. Normally, it never was as bad as you thought it was going to be, but when it came to one person in his life, it always, inevitably more atrocious than he even could have imagined.
"Oh god, it's going to be worse."
"Then why are we going through this ordeal?"
"Because we have to."
Grimmjow shook his head. He really didn't understand Ichigo sometimes- quite why this was a necessity he didn't understand.
"We really don't have to, you know. You just seem to think that we do. I'd be more than happy not to do it."
"Stop trying to get out of it!"
"I'm not! I'm just saying that we can stay here if you want to. There's lots of other stuff that we can do to pass the time. We could train, or something."
"Or we could go through with what we are planning on doing?"
"Hey, it's not me acting all hesitant about it, you're the one who said you weren't ready for this!"
"Ah, shut up Grimmjow. We're doing this."
Grimmjow sniffed.
"Never said that we weren't."
They glared at each other for a moment, before breaking out into smiles. Grimmjow placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and gently pushed him, walking backwards, towards the door.
"C'mon then, let's get going."
They made it out of the bedroom door and down the corridor before Ichigo faltered again, looking down on his feet as they stood at the top of the stairs, toes sticking out over the edge, Grimmjow nudged him, then looked down with confusion.
"What's going on?"
Ichigo didn't answer, and Grimmjow felt a tug of a smile at his mouth. He had never seen him this nervous before. He lowered his voice a little.
"It's just downstairs, Ichigo. It's not like you've ever walked down these stairs before."
There was a strange expression on Ichigo's face.
"Yeah, but I've never walked down these stairs with you before."
"What bullshit is that? We've gone downstairs loads of times!"
It was true; many a time they had snuck down in the night when Ichigo needed a drink of water or wanted to pick up the leftovers that Yuzu always left her brother on the side or in the fridge for when he was out late. Ichigo had never showed this nervousness before.
"Yeah, but not when my family are down there waiting for us at the bottom."
Grimmjow's face split into a huge grin.
"Go down yourself then."
Ichigo spun on his heel, trying to keep his voice low.
"Where are you going?"
Grimmjow just smiled, and disappeared from view, back through his bedroom door. Ichigo shook his head after him, and descended down the stairs. He had been expecting his family to be gathered around at the end, waiting with eager, upturned faces, though they had no idea that he was planning on introducing them to Grimmjow tonight; why would they? He hadn't told them of his plans. He had suffered enough nightmares about this situation without giving them any ammunition. Anything could happen; and he really did mean anything. Images of his father handing out condoms and discussing safe sex were not even out of the bounds of possibility.
He was a little disconcerted when he actually got downstairs to realised that, in actual fact, they were all sat in the living room, watching Yuzu's favourite show. Karin had her feet up, her shoes kicked off on the floor, and his Father was lamenting the quality of television in a typically melodramatic tone. He perched awkwardly on the arm of the sofa, a little thrown off balance. He really wasn't sure what to expect.
The doorbell rang just as the credits rolled.
Yuzu stood, her apron still on and tied around her waist, and before Ichigo registered what was going on she had gone to open the front door. He froze on his uncomfortable seat as Yuzu's voice came through from the hall.
"Jaegerjaquez-san, it's very good to see you. Please, do come in."
Ichigo seemed unable to move, only watch with horror as his father bounded up, a wide grin on his face as he darted out into the hallway.
"Welcome to our home!"
Karin rolled her eyes and shouted through, getting to her feet and stretching her back.
"Dad, don't be an idiot, he's been here before."
Ichigo watched her wander through. In the background, he could hear Yuzu politely asking if she could take his coat, before realising that taking his coat would leave him bare-chested, and that might be a little bit awkward. In the foreground was Karin's voice, and his father's cheerful answers. Slowly, as if he had lost control of his body, he got to his feet.
"But he's never been welcomed in such an energetic way!"
"Dad, shut up."
"Ahh, come on, he's practically family now!"
When he poked his head around the door into the hallway, he could see the stand off going on between Grimmjow and Karin as his father and other sister continued to chat happily. Karin was looking him up and down, whilst Grimmjow stared over her head in an intentional attempt to make her feel intimidated. To his gratification, it didn't seem to be having any effect on Karin whatsoever, not that he had really expected it to. His sister was many things, but she wasn't a girl to cave. Ichigo took note of her tensed jaw and scowl with pride.
"So you're the guy Ichi-nii's going all soft for, huh?"
If there was anything that might snap Ichigo out of his bemused reverie, it was this.
"Hey, I'm not soft!"
"Shush, Ichigo," his father cooed to him. "He seems very nice."
Ichigo shot his father a baffled look. He was rather wondering if his father had gone insane. Or maybe it was just him. He knew that everyone had known about Grimmjow by now, but he had still expected them to be a little more… surprised.
Grimmjow raised his eyebrows at Ichigo as they passed in the corridor, being towed by Yuzu through to the kitchen.
Even more surprising was that Grimmjow hadn't actually said anything offensive yet, and had actually managed to seem... civil. This was a strange day.
They kept a calendar on the wall of the kitchen, pinned up with great pride, a new one every year. Well, it was Yuzu who kept the calendar, who ordered it, specially made. Each month had a picture of one or two or three or all of them, that she would surreptitiously take throughout the year for this very purpose. The picture for June, however, was always one of their mother. Yuzu went through the big box of photographs up in the attic every year for a new one, and her birthday, on the ninth, was always ringed in blue. But now it was the start of December, and the picture was off an irritated looking Ichigo from the year before, scrapes on his face from the battles he had charged into. To Ichigo, it barely felt like a year since the Winter War had been won, but there was the calendar, to prove it. He had ear-muffs on in the picture, a present from Yuzu, and Isshin had his arm thrown around his shoulders, a snowball in his other hands and a mischievous grin on his face.
Grimmjow looked at the calendar with interest; it had never caught his attention before now.
He stared at the date ringed in red.
"Hey, Ichigo, what's on the twenty-fifth?"
Ichigo couldn't help but smile.
"It's Christmas, a religious holiday,"
Isshin threw his hands together.
"It's a joyous day, one that we celebrate every year!"
Grimmjow and Ichigo exchanged a glance from across the room. Karin was rolling her eyes to the ceiling again.
"Dad, we're not Christians, how many times to I have to tell you-"
"That does not matter! It is about forgiveness, and being together, and being happy with everything that we have, and loving each other. It is a day to be happy on. In fact-" and here he spun on his heels with such speed that he was almost a blur, "We would be delighted if you joined us on Christmas Day, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez."
"Dad, I'm sure he doesn't want to-"
"Nonsense! You, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, are one of the family now."
Karin looked exasperated. Yuzu looked pleased.
Grimmjow looked bewildered.
Ichigo just felt vaguely relieved that no one had tried to kill anyone yet.
The evening progressed with less strain than he had expected it to; there was an awkward moment when Yuzu had offered to make Grimmjow something to eat, and Ichigo had to quietly explain that Grimmjow didn't eat human food, and another when Isshin loudly asked Grimmjow what his intentions were in regards to Ichigo's future, but all in all it was going surprisingly well. No one had even mentioned the huge jawbone stuck on the side of his face. Isshin seemed remarkably happy, though Ichigo did catch him watching Grimmjow with a cautious expression a couple of times, when he thought that no one was looking at him. His father's moments of seriousness were always intended to be secret; he didn't seem to like people knowing that he was capable of actually being an adult.
He was good at it; his father's maturity was a well kept secret.
The writhing masses of the army were sprawled before him, fighting amongst themselves. Blood was stamped into the sand beneath their feet, staining the ground so deep that it was impossible to imagine it ever washing away. He felt that was apt. The fallen Espada had their numbers imprinted on the sand, though no one knew why or how it worked, but they were there. The most important thing to them was their rank, and the most important thing to his army was that they had been scarred.
Life had destroyed them, and they had brought themselves back together. It was still strange to believe that they had managed to come this far.
He had stepped on this road so long ago that it was so difficult to believe that he was almost at the end. It had been such a long time ago, now, that night that had changed his life, that night when he thought there would not, could not be a future for him.
That night he had reached to wipe a tear off his cheek and had realised that it was blood, splattered from his brothers, lying in piles around him.
The shinigami hadn't noticed him; he was only a tiny thing, back then, well hidden underneath the bodies.
Those tall figures in black had seemed so intimidating back then.
It was strange to think that right now, the whole shinigami race seemed to be so small.
But before they could get to that stage, they had one last thing to find, one last thing to concrete everything else. There was a final cog in this vast machine that he had created himself, and he knew exactly where to source it. Hallibel was lost to them; he still didn't know how she had managed to get out without being overwhelmed, since so much of her spiritual energy had been drained, although it hadn't been enough to fill the army's needs. They hadn't been able to source her since she left Karakura; as much as he hated to admit it, she clearly had a lot more skill at hopping between worlds without leaving a trail than he had given her credit for. Every time they caught a whiff of her she had disappeared; he had written her off for a lost cause.
He shrugged his shoulders to himself; she had only been his second choice anyway. She had been weak, she had been injured, mostly drained just from the effort of keeping ahead of the tracking teams and trying to heal herself at the same time.
There was still one left.
And he would be perfect for the job.
The creature cracked his knuckles, and smiled.
"Sexta, we're coming."
He wondered if Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez was going to let Karakura burn for him.
When Ichigo sighed for the third time in the past ten minutes, his head in his hands, Grimmjow turned his head to the side and raised an eyebrow in his direction, though Ichigo could not see him. After the fourth sigh, he sat up from where he was lying on the bed. He had been lying there in a comfortable silence as Ichigo caught up on school work, but now he was going to have to pay attention. Be supportive.
Or some crap like that.
He knew that Ichigo knew he was waiting for him to talk; he waited, though he was not the most patient of people, for his lover to speak.
Thankfully, he didn't have to wait a long time.
"I'm worried about her, Grimmjow."
He didn't need Ichigo to explain who he meant; whilst he wouldn't have admitted to actually being worried or anxious for his former-comrade, he couldn't deny that he hadn't thought about her.
"Why?"
Ichigo hesitated for a moment, causing the former-Espada to look over at him again. There was a flash of something that might have been concern, if he had been anything other than himself.
"It's just… something that Zangetsu said to me, after she had left. I don't know, I just can't forget about it."
"What did he say?"
Ichigo bit his lip, and paused for a moment, wondering whether or not to say it.
"He said… he said she was drowning."
Grimmjow looked at Ichigo for a long moment as he waited for Pantera to say anything. She had commented along the same line, but he had not thought to mention it. Perhaps it was unfair of him; he had assumed that Ichigo and his zanpakuto had would not have noticed what was wrong with Hallibel. Clearly they were more observant than he had given them credit for.
Pantera was cautious in his mind, padding through his mind softly, lifting each foot up and putting it down with the utmost care, as if afraid of standing on something sharp.
You're going to have to tell him, love.
"She's dying, sure enough."
Ichigo's mouth fell open as he stared at him.
"The hell do you mean? You said she'd be fine!"
Grimmjow shrugged.
"We've got to help her!"
He shook his head, slowly, suddenly feeling very tired.
"Ichigo, there's nothing that we can do to help her. She knows she is dying. You can't exist on that little energy, and something inside her has given up. She's not fuelling herself properly. She's literally wasting away, and she knows it."
Ichigo bit his lip.
"Then why does Zangetsu say that her soul feels like it's drowning?"
"How the fuck should I know why her soul thinks that?"
Ichigo lapsed into silence, with no answer to Grimmjow's rhetorical question. He was thinking about the hollows, the ones that had attacked her, and how likely it was that they would be able to find her again, in the vast space that was Hueco Mundo? Though there was so much of the place, it was hardly filled with good hiding places. Sheltering behind a boulder would not be enough if they were looking for her.
No one had spoken about it, but he had looked up at those hollows and had seen the scar tissue left from ripped off masks. It almost felt like a taboo subject, something that was too dangerous to talk about.
And there was something that was worrying him more- they were after Hallibel because she was strong, to feed themselves. Did that mean that Grimmjow himself was at a risk?
He caught Grimmjow's eye, and the corner of his mouth tilted in a worried smile.
Grimmjow didn't know quite what to say; there was no words he knew that could comfort Ichigo. He could not tell Ichigo that it would be alright, that Hallibel would be safe, because he had no way to prove that it would be so, and frankly, he had doubts that it would work out for her. She seemed like a lost cause, as far as he could tell, but he had a feeling that Ichigo didn't want reminding of this.
He flopped back down onto the bed, deep in thought, a frown on his forehead.
They sank back into a companionable silence, both of them thinking the same things. It was a while until they were disturbed, by which point Ichigo had gone back to trying to do his homework, and Grimmjow had close his eyes again.
There was a polite cough from behind them, but they already knew that it was Urahara, appearing in Ichigo's window with the usual lack of forewarning. The sudden appearance made Ichigo spin around in his chair in surprise, and though normally this would at least make the shopkeeper chuckle from behind his fan, but today his face bore no smile or warmth. He sat crouched on the window sill with an unusual air of stillness, and for once his hat was tilted upwards so that they could see his eyes, and they were grim.
"I've had news."
Ichigo's eyes widened, his first thoughts leaping towards Grimmjow, and armies coming to arrest him. He swallowed.
"From who?"
"Renji. He managed to slip a message through to me about an hour ago. He thought that it was something that we should know."
Ichigo glanced over at Grimmjow, and saw that he had completely stilled, and was listening intently. He tried not to panic, tried not to jump to the most obvious of conclusions, but it was very difficult. He almost jumped again as Grimmjow cleared his throat.
"Just give us the news, old man. What's he got to say?"
Urahara looked at them both once more before delivering the rest of the message.
"The Seventh Division followed a lead on an… unusual spiritual pattern this morning in the periphery of an outlying world. They followed it after calling for back up and after a brief battle managed to suppress and arrest the criminal, who is listed in their Most Wanted documentation."
Urahara tipped his hat back down to cover his eyes.
"They've captured Hallibel."
Grimmjow closed his eyes.
Bad news never comes alone. In fact, it seems to enjoy company.
Three days later an officious looking envelope arrived through the front door with the morning post, though it bore no stamp and no delivery mark from the post office. It was thick, and cream, and the paper had the feeling of great expense in his hands. Ichigo turned it over and over, wishing that he didn't know that the seal on the reverse was that of the Gotei 13, wishing that he didn't know what the symbol of Central 46 was. God, he wished he could believe that this was an ordinary envelope that he could put aside for later, even though no normal correspondence would come addressed to 'Substitute Shinigami Ichigo Kurosaki'.
He didn't know whether or not to wait until he saw Grimmjow to open the letter, knew that he probably should, as it was just as important to him, if not more so. But all of a sudden, as his fingertips felt the raised seal one more time, he knew that he could not wait any longer.
He had to know.
With an overwhelming fear building in his chest, he tore open the envelope, pulling out the letter. His mouth felt dry, bitter.
~From the Court of Pure Souls~
To the Substitute Shinigami of the town of Karakura,
Ichigo Kurosaki,
We are writing to inform you of court proceedings that will begin on the first of January of this year that involve the town of Karakura, an area designated to you for protection by Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, the Captain-Commander of the Thirteen Gotei Imperial Divisions as a substitute shinigami. As you are answerable to this authority for offences and ineptitude in this role, you are hereby summoned to attend this hearing, which will take place in the court of the Central 46, located in the Seireitei.
The hearing is being called due to the report of a reputable shinigami who must remain anonymous throughout court proceedings. This shinigami passed through your allocated area of protection whilst on other business, and reports their concern at witnessing a creature known by the Developed Spiritual Beings Regulation, laid out by the Twelfth Division of the Gotei forces, as an Arrancar. We have substantial evidence that this race, though should have been fully terminated, was not so, and its continued existence is a threat both to your home, to innocent people, and the reputation of yourself and this most noble of institutions. This Arrancar, the witness reports, was not reprimanded, nor was any attempt at capture made. If this is indeed the case, then it shows the incapability of those who protect the area designated to you, including yourself. Immediate action must be taken to remedy this.
We must stress that this letter is neither an accusation to your person of any crime or misdemeanour, nor must the summons to the arranged hearing be taken as a prelude or arrest or punishment. We simply wish to conclude this as soon as possible, thus preventing any harm being done to the people of Karakura and its protectors. We request that you are compliant with questioning during the hearing, so that the matter may be solved with efficiency and your own innocence in the matter proven.
We are well aware of the unique climate of Karakura towards those on the other side of the law, and there is much disturbing evidence documenting wrong doing and law breaking within your town that may be outside your knowledge. The protection of many wanted criminals in your town has been a concern for a long while, criminals who, despite the best efforts of the authorities, remain at large. Our concern is that such degenerates may also decide to house the Arrancar, protecting it from view. Should the matter not be cleared up in the hearing, a thorough search of the town shall be ordered, much to your and our benefit.
Of course, if between receiving this letter and the date of the hearing you do reprimand and contain the creature, this need not happen. You are given permission from this, the highest authority, to kill the creature if it is impossible to subdue.
We expect to hear your reply confirming your attendance as soon as possible.
Regards,
Yuuko Sato,
Undersecretary to the Chairman
Central 46
Ichigo put his head in his hands and sighed. The message was very clear. Hand in Grimmjow, or face punishment. Hand in Grimmjow, or we'll suddenly open that blind eye that we keep on the Vizards, on Urahara and Yoruichi, all the people who rely on the Shoten. Hand in Grimmjow and we'll turn on your friends with powers, your little sister who is showing promise as a shinigami, even on your own father… and if you want, you can kill Grimmjow whilst you're at it.
He looked out of the window, and singled out a star. It was bright, and he stared at it, swearing in his head that he would not let them touch the people that he cared the most about in the world. They wouldn't get away with hurting anyone that he loved. Just let them try.
And if they thought he would give in Grimmjow just like that, they clearly didn't know who they were dealing with.